Set your time machine back to the tumultuous late 60's (yes, I'm dating myself). I was just entering high school and had saved enough money doing odd jobs around the neighborhood to afford my very first SLR, a Mamiya-Sekor 1000DTL.

The camera with a 50mm lens cost around $300 back then, and it was a big step up from the Kodak box camera I played with as a kid. Though not quite a Nikon, the Mamiya Sekor was nevertheless state-of-the-art at the time, with dual metering (spot and average), self-timer, and other advanced features.

I shot exclusively B&W film back then (usually Plus-X and Tri-X), developed the negatives myself, then printed with an ancient Beseler enlarger. To save money, I bought 100 ft. rolls of film and rolled my own cartridges (called bulk-film loading), getting several hundred shots for just a few bucks.

While not actually my first 35mm photo, here's a very early shot scanned from an over 35 year-old negative I found in a file box. I remember printing this at 8x10 and enjoying the "prickly" look of the cactus.

Hey fellow PixArtWeb members, why not share some of your earliest photos and give us a little history?